


First Contact

by evenstar8705



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Invasion, Alien Mythology/Religion, Bajorans, Cardassians, Gen, Hybrids, Occupation of Bajor, Pre-Canon, Prostitution, Racism, Rape/Non-con Elements, caste system
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24950257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evenstar8705/pseuds/evenstar8705
Summary: There was 10 years of 'peace' between Bajor and Cardassia before the Occupation went into full swing. A Ranjen of the temple gives her account of friendly relations gradually turning dark.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

Ranjen Lodre Izo rose dutifully before the crack of dawn so that she could greet the acolytes and lead them in Morning Prayer. She passed the Keeper of Flame along her way. Sure enough, from the tail of her eye, she could see that the flame was still going. In all her years it had gone out once and it wasn’t the maiden’s fault. There had been a fierce windstorm that night and pitiful protection for the brazier which had been traditionally an open flame for eons. That didn’t stop the temple guards from giving the poor girl a severe beating and declaring her casteless.  


She counted the girls lining up with a quick glance. If a single girl was missing she would know it. They all lined up according to their height with the taller girls in the back and the smaller girls within the front. There was an even number of girls. On the other side of the temple, a monk was doing the exact same ritual with the men. If a girl was missing she was supposed to inquire why she was missing and unless she was severally ill she was required to be there.  


After reciting the chant, pretending not to be bored out of her godforsaken mind, the women discarded their robes so they could dip in the gentle river nestled near the temple walls. It had been a natural river once but the Bajorans used primitive but practical means to tame the waters so that it was hardly natural anymore. There was careful landscaping to make it all the more beautiful. Young boys were armed with small shovels and ripped up offending weeds and invasive plants with the fervor of warriors defending their homeland.  


At least it was temperate outside. For that Izo silently sent a prayer of gratitude to the Prophets. Rain or shine, snow or storm, the monks and nuns had to do this every morning and evening. They were supposed to prove their discipline of mind of body tolerating the harsher elements. They were given no heavier garments and if a man or woman displayed signs of hypothermia or hyperthermia they were forced to repeat ethics courses and began a regiment of manual labor for several weeks. It frustrated her because meditation could only do so much to combat the superior power of nature. It was rather arrogant to think faith could overcome all.  


After a few minutes of treading the water, cleansing their bodies and spirits, the women remained naked waiting for their robes to dry and Izo led them in a long session of meditation. An acolyte rose to burn incense and then took her place again. She heard several stomachs growling but chose to ignore them. They were not to break their fast for another hour. When a little girl’s stomach roiled loudly, she sighed. She knew the child had been denied the evening meal prior and felt pity for her. She would have to wait just a little bit longer and her suffering would be put to an end.  


After an hour crawled by agonizingly slow, Izo herself felt a bit faint but the light from the dawn was not only welcome but lovely. Having to wake so early in the morning, breathing in the incense, suppressing hunger, feeling the breeze tickle and tease the temperature of their skin, and watching the festival of lights dance across the water and make the air glow, it often induced a feeling of euphoria within the temple dwellers. Without drugs, the leaders could simulate such feelings easily.

“Now let us thank the Prophets for the meal we are about to consume,” Izo said cheerfully.

“Thank the Prophets!” an older woman blurted.

Izo laughed in agreement and delivered a much shorter prayer of thanksgiving rather than the standard one. 

Finally raw fruits and vegetables, grains and cold meats were brought out to them as the women robed themselves. They didn’t mind if the robes were still a bit damp. The sun would dry them soon enough. They chatted happily as they ate.

“Is it true that we are going to receive alien visitors here soon?” 

“Well, the ambassadors said that in order for them to get an inkling of what Bajor is all about, they will have to tour the temples.”

“Can you imagine aliens in the inner sanctums?”

“I’m sure they won’t be allowed in there but the main halls are welcome to everyone.”

“Even beastly aliens? Have you seen what these people look like? They’re like humanoid snakes with hair and limbs!”

“Hush, Genii, “ Izo rebuked her. “The Prophets tell us not to judge other life forms!”

“Yet they also warn us about interlopers!” Genii gave her a fussy look.

“At least wait until you’ve spoken with a Cardassian before you surmise anything!”

“Cardassian?” the little girl had juices all over her face. “So they are called Cardassians?”

“Aye.”

“Do they really look the way Genii described?”

“We will find out,” Izo confirmed the rumors. “Several of them are supposed to visit tomorrow.”

She sparked a fire of frenzied excitement. Contact with another alien species? Although Bajor was capable of short term space travel, they had never encountered any aliens more advanced than animals and plants and microbial life. They had colonized the closest available moons and planets but they had no desire or need to explore much further. The temple was partially to blame for that too. It had been determined that the risk was great to both the spirit of Bajor and to their bodies. What if they carried back harmful things from space? What if they forgot or neglected their home world?

“We must welcome these aliens as though they weren’t foreign at all,” Izo instructed them. “Their territory, including their home planet of Cardassia, is not terribly far from us. They are our intergalactic neighbors and should be treated as neighbors.”

“I’m keeping my children close to be safe,” Genii said flippantly. “If it looks like a snake and talks like a snake, I’m calling it a snake and will treat those creatures with utmost caution.”


	2. Gray Snakes

Lodre Izo followed Vedek Ella and kept her eyes low. She had been assisting her Vedek for almost ten years now despite the fact she had been considered a problematic acolyte. She was convinced she was born to the wrong caste. She had more liberal views of scripture and treated some traditions with poorly concealed disdain. But Vedek Ella saw something in the rebellious and spirited girl. She believed that once a follower conquered their doubts they became the best leaders of the faith. She sponsored her so that she could catch a glimpse of an Orb.

To everyone’s surprise but Vedek Ella’s, Izo had visions. They knew the signs to look for so no one could fake their visions. She tried to repeat what she had seen to Ella and several other Vedeks. Visions from Orbs were not so private in her days, especially from the Orb of Prophecy and Change. They hoped to make some sort of Oracle out of her but that was no good. No one could interpret very much of what she had seen, least of all her. The Vedeks decided to be patient and wait for her mind to sort it out and reveal something eventually. 

While she served, Lodre Izo proved she might be critical of the temple at times but she was very good at wrangling the other women and the tasks assigned to monks and nuns. She rose from an acolyte, to a Prylar, and then obtained the rank of Ranjen just recently. The next rank would make her a Vedek although there were usually a hundred or so of those across their planet. They were chosen by the Kai, the highest authority of the temple, and there was only one Kai at a time. The Vedek Assembly chose that lofty candidate from within their ranks when a Kai died or stepped down. 

Lately, the Vedek Assembly had swollen to unprecedented numbers. Each Kai had appointed more and more to the rank of Vedek in order to consolidate their personal power. They built countless shrines to justify the numbers but such shrines were merely dummies. They were always placed within a stone’s throw of an established temple or in areas with a sparse population or even no population. It was outrageous, but Izo knew better than to question it. The best she could do was keep her head down until she might be lucky enough to earn the rank of Vedek.

As she was mulling over the corruption of the temple, she spotted her first Cardassians and her heart skipped a beat within her breast. She had seen such creatures in her vision! She was sure of it now. Her feelings were terribly mixed when they each gave their strange sounding names through unfamiliar accents. Several words they used were totally alien.

“How can you understand our language?” she blurted.

“Translators,” their leader Pasir Lentin replied. 

“Ah, it is just that we cannot see them.”

“They are advanced and tiny enough that they can be placed within the ear safely and discreetly. Only a few of us have studied your language enough to be properly fluent and even our tech is struggling to translate certain words and phrases. We do apologize.”

“Your technology is amazing, then!” Vedek Ella said in praise. “It is a blessing we can understand you at all! Not only can we not notice them but they must affect us so that we can’t tell you’re speaking anything but Bajoran! We have translators but they are slow with no voice modulation.”

“Perhaps we could give you schematics to improve your translators and make them more truly universal,” Lentin suggested. “After we have established a friendly relationship with your science teams, that is. You do have scientists on this planet, don’t you?”

“I think we do, if you are referring to our philosophers. You must be using an alien term.”

“It is very telling that we were brought to your temples and shrines first. Your government appears to be a theocracy.”

“The Kai and priests are treasured advisors to our leaders if that is what you mean.”

“Your hair is pale and lacking pigmentation,” one of the other aliens pointed at Izo. “Does that mean you are elderly or ill? You look quite young for it to be a matter of age unless your people age slowly?”

She tried not to be insulted, “It’s a natural hair color here that is often called platinum blonde, sir.”

“Bajorans must have a rich diversity of physical traits as well as within their culture,” Lentin nodded.

“I find the color very appealing,” a particular Cardassian’s eyes glimmered and he looked like he was struggling not to reach out and touch the loose strands of her hair.

She gazed back at him and noticed that his eyes were green as a lily pad. The rest of the men had eyes of pale blue or gray. It seemed a mismatch to possess such light colored eyes and yet they all grew dark black hair and had skin in varying shades of gray. They seemed to be an odd but perfect mix of both phylum of mammals and reptiles. Their scales and ridges were slightly varied but they all had thick brow ridges as a rule and spoon shaped creases within the middle of their foreheads. 

They also wore heavy black armor with harsh triangular shapes sloping at the right angles to make them appear bulkier and taller, as if they needed such enhancements. They called themselves peacekeepers and ambassadors but they looked like elite solders to her far more intimidating than the temple guards. They also scrutinized and scanned everything almost as though they were the natives and she and her fellow Bajorans were the strangers on this planet.

“I didn’t catch your name?” Izo prodded of the green-eyed man.

“Glinn Lucius Sindus.”

“Glinn, have your people never heard of blonde haired people? There are red heads and brown haired people too. Vedek Ella has black hair but that’s by coincidence. Have you never seen skin tones of any other color than gray or white? I find that hard to believe. The Cardassian Union has allies of alien races. We are hardly the first species you have contacted.”

He chuckled while Vedek Ella gave her a disapproving look. The other Cardassians kept blank faces and made no sound.

“Glinn is a title and not a name. Are you this Kai we have heard so much about? You seem well informed of our people. As for me, I have personally never seen blonde hair before.”

Izo felt more than half a fool and dreaded that she was probably due for some punishment for speaking so much out of turn. She was merely supposed to be an escort to her Vedek. She was a Ranjen and had absolutely no dealings with the Kai. She had merely caught a glimpse of him before and she was of the lucky ones.

“I am no Kai,” she corrected them. “I am merely here to introduce Vedek Ella. She will escort you to Kai Arin.”

“He was expecting you,” Vedek Ella reestablished her authority quickly. “The Prophets have not denied you entry here and Kai Arin knows we can’t possibly establish trade and commerce unless you have some understanding of our religion and culture. It is undeniable that we are a spiritual people and that affects nearly every aspect of our daily lives.”

She led them deeper into the sanctums so that they could meet directly with the Kai. Izo rushed to check on the acolytes and attend her normal duties. She worked doubly hard in an attempt to smooth things over later when Vedek Ella called her out on her behavior later. The girls were anxious to hear about the aliens but she was in no mood for questions.

After most of the afternoon and early evening went by, they were surprised when the Cardassian men came to visit their sanctum. Izo was wary.

“May I help you?” she was the woman in charge since it seemed the Kai and the Vedek Assembly were still in session.

“We were told that there are designated men and women that offer special services,” Lentin said. 

It took her a moment to get his meaning and when she did she replied, “Oh, you mean the companions? Well, we have never done such a thing for aliens, but if the men and women don’t mind I can gather them for your entertainment.”

“Just women, if you don’t mind,” he specified. “Same-sex relations are a crime to my people.”

She summoned the female companions. Half of them declined servicing aliens but the other half were brave and intrigued. It would be a unique sort of first contact and companions knew the act of physical love could inspire nonbelievers to seek the spiritual form eagerly after. They hesitated, waiting for instruction.

“Did the Kai or Vedek Ella explain how this system works?” Izo wanted that clear.

“It was a bit muddled,” Lentin confessed. “Apparently we pay them a fee and these women will engage in sexual intercourse with us?"

Izo was quick to explain, “What you pay is a donation to the temple coffers and not a fee. Not a single coin goes to the girls because the temple provides everything they need. It is a predetermined and modest amount required but if you feel generous you can donate more. After you have made that donation you may ask a girl to spend a few hours with you. It is not necessarily a sexual service but can include it. The girl can refuse anything. If she does, then you could try asking another girl but the same rules apply.”

“Would another donation be required?”

“Not unless you would buy more hours.”

“You said it is not just sex?”

“Every girl has her own way and talents. Some girls sing or play an instrument. Some specialize in touch or conversation. Others recite poetry or dance. Zerena will create pottery or paint. There are many ways we can provide the spiritual counseling that is always included.”

“The women don’t mind casual pairings like this? And with aliens?”

“It’s not seen as casual,” Izo was insulted again. “Love-making is seen as an art on this planet and is an expression of life! As for the fact that you are aliens, you are humanoid enough and you are the person asking, are you not?”

“What do these women do when they become pregnant? We are so different it is highly unlikely we could get them pregnant, but what about with fellow Bajorans? If they have so many partners how do they determine who the father is? What becomes of the children?”

“Parentage can easily be determined with a blood test. We are not entirely primitive. Even if that were not the case, the women keep track of their cycles and clients and the temple logs the donations meticulously. Children are always a blessing and unless a woman’s body can’t handle a pregnancy and childbirth we do nothing to prevent conception. The companion system is also incredibly beneficial because it provides variety throughout the Djarras.”

“By the Djarra, you mean the strict caste system that your people segregate themselves into?’

She nodded, “The beauty is that companions may accept any man or woman of any caste as long as they can provide a donation to the temple. Marriages and sex between different castes is always forbidden else wise. The companions are of the Sern’apa caste, the religious D’jarra and one of the highest. When a child is born of a companion the child belongs to the caste of the same sex parent.”

“So you are saying that if a girl is born of these unions she is raised in the temple as a Sern’apa,” these Cardassians were quick. “But a boy is whatever caste the father was born of. Does the mother just abandon the child then?”

“Never! The father is contacted to claim his son after the baby is weaned. Then he will remain in his proper caste with his peers.”

“Isn’t such separation hard on the parents?”

“If the child is a girl then the father rejoices in the fact that his daughter will belong to a highly desirable place in society. Our male clients are often of the lesser castes. If the child is a boy, the mother can comfort herself with the knowledge that she has provided new blood and joy to another household. The men usually bring those sons home and integrate them into their existing families with no stigma. Such children are a stamp of honor and proof of fertility. This loophole in the Djarra system prevents bottle-necking in the gene pools of each caste.”

“And what happens to the donation money?”

“It’s supposed to go to the poor.”

“Supposed to?” the green eyed man Lucius butted into the conversation.

“It’s not my place to question where most of the temple funds go,” Izo tried to conceal some bitterness.

“May I give a donation and use your services?”

She was completely thrown off guard and an amusing sound passed through her lips, “I-I am not a companion.”

“That’s a crying shame for me.”

“She’s got pale hair anyhow,” Lentin said. “Most of us prefer brunettes because they are closer to what we are used to at home. I’ll make a donation. Which girl will service me?”

The rest of the men began to make donations and slipped away with a girl until only Lucius remained. A few curious girls approached him but he winked at Izo and stood still waiting for his comrades to while away the hours. She also lingered so she could call the temple guard and assist a girl if needed. None had ever serviced an alien before.

Luckily there seemed to be no unpleasantness and the men left without incident. The women gathered around immediately to ask the companions all sorts of questions.

“Would you take the aliens as clients again?” Izo asked.

They answered, “Yes and they promised they would return often.”


	3. Ranks and Castes

The Cardassians kept their promise. They came to the temple near every week to make donations. Izo shook her head because it was clear the aliens didn’t care for the spiritual counseling. She knew what their real motives were. The temple clergy, however, was making a profit from them and most of the women that were initially too frightened or shy decided to give them a chance. 

After five months of this passed, the first hybrid child was born. Zerena gave birth to a boy that clearly bore the features of both species. He had fine black hair, blue eyes, and tiny little bumps of cartilage that would obviously grow into ridges over time. He had distinct Bajoran ridges on his little nose and a spoon shaped crease in his forehead. His skin was a mix of a gray and yellow coloring. The mother was astonished. She had been half convinced the child belonged to a Bajoran client but this proved he belonged to the Cardassian client that frequented her chambers instead.

There was a puzzled reaction to this birth. No one had expected the Bajoran women to conceive with aliens. They had assumed their physiology would never allow it. This opened a can of worms in the Vedek Assembly. In normal cases the child would belong to his father’s caste but the Cardassians belonged to no caste in Bajoran society. They were merely guests on their planet. The child was therefore casteless.

The father was as baffled as they were. He told them that under normal circumstances on his home world the child was born out of wedlock and would be considered a bastard. He offered to wed the mother and make the boy legitimate. He was unmarried or that wouldn’t have been an option. Zerena consented to the idea of marriage and became a pioneer again. In many eyes, including the mother’s, the baby’s birth was considered a welcome miracle. It proved that the Prophets must approve of these aliens.  


But not everyone was convinced. Detractors whispered that the child was a casteless foreign abomination and the mother should be excommunicated and labeled casteless. The companions realized that they needed to be more careful with their clients and began to use birth control to avoid stigma. Not every Cardassian that arrived was unmarried or willing to embrace a bastard. 

And more and more Cardassians were arriving! They negotiated with the Kai and government for embassies and took up permanent residences. A small handful sent for their wives and children. Throughout each province there was a growing Cardassian presence and they flocked to the temples to swell their coffers and into the markets to trade goods. 

At the main temple where Ranjen Lodre Izo called home, she noted that Lucien tagged along with his comrades every time and yet he never made a donation to spend time with the companions. Instead he wandered the halls and sanctums that were not prohibited observing the nuns and monks thoughtfully. She was mildly annoyed at first but she couldn’t rudely turn him away. 

“What do you think of my comrade’s marriage to Zerena?” he asked.

She wanted to groan but stopped herself. She hadn’t exactly invited him to converse with her. She was checking on the donation logs and providing a sort of supervision. She did her best to ignore the sounds since the walls were far from soundproof. If anything the building was made to echo sound. She wished she could plug up her ears.

“I think Zerena found the entire situation a blessing,” she decided to be honest. “She hated being a companion. The fact that she gets to marry and settle down and raise a child, any child, is a relief.”

“The woman wasn’t being forced to be a companion, was she?” he sounded concerned.

“Of course not. Most girls find the task pleasant when they are young. Zerena was tired of it because she wanted to share her gift in artwork. By rights she should have been born into the Ih’valla caste. She loved to glaze scripture into the pots and was more talented than the legitimate artists I know of. The only people that could possibly appreciate them were her clients but none of them cared for that. They just wanted sex.”

“Then why didn’t she stop offering her services as a companion?”

“She had many men request her. She hated to disappoint them and she was convinced like everybody else that the donations accepted in her name go to good causes. In short, the temple finds ways to pressure men and women into the companion system.”

“Can she no longer offer her services anymore?”

“She doesn’t have to. She is a wife and mother. She is encouraged to keep to her husband’s bed and to nurse her son. That is a son she gets to keep.”

“Why didn’t she marry a Bajoran man?”

“The options in our caste can be dismal. Monks like to take self-imposed vows of chastity to prove their piety. The other extreme are monks that are even more liberal with their partners than the average man. I have yet to find a man in my caste that isn’t more in love with himself than the Prophets or something as earthly and base as a wife.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of experience in the matter so I won’t argue with you.”

She glared at him, “We are not talking about my experience.”

“Then tell me more about this bizarre caste system. If Zerena would have been happier and better suited to the Ih’valla caste, why couldn’t she just join them?”

Izo gasped because what he said was blasphemous! “She would be disowned by everyone she ever knew or loved if she did that! A Bajoran lives and dies within their caste. There is no forcing their way up and those that sink down due so at a horrible price.”

“But if she was so talented-“

“It is never a matter of talent, Cardassian! The Prophets allow each pagh to select their birth parents before they enter the flesh and their caste is determined by their actions in their previous life!”

“Previous life?” Lucius found that his head was spinning. “Pagh?”

“We believe in reincarnation and karma,” Izo was trained to explain. “If you live a good life and follow the will of the Prophets, your pagh (soul) gets to be born into a higher caste next time around. If you lived a terrible life and ignored them, you fall from grace and you are born into a lower caste.”

“So, hypothetically, if someone of the highest caste is a murderer in this life he would end up in which caste in his next life?”

“For such outrageous crimes he would likely be born to the Imutta. They are considered the lowest rung of society. They are the unclean. We do not look them in the eye and if we touch them we must wash ourselves a hundred times.”

“That seems extreme. What sort of work do they do?”

“They deal with the dead or waste disposal. They are dirty jobs.”

“Say the man wasn’t a murderer but an adulterer?”

“Then he might end up in the Va’telo caste.”

“And what do they do?”

“They are sailors, pilots and drivers.”

“That doesn’t sound too terrible. What if a man or woman leads an exemplary life and they are already of the highest caste?”

“Then it is thought they return to that caste in order to enlighten others or they get to escape the cycle or rebirth and join the Prophets in the Celestial Temple forever.”

“Why does it seem so easy to fall in your society but so hard to work your way up? Why must the reward or punishment wait for the next life? Have you proven that there is such a thing as a next life?” Lucius asked critically. “And why would a child choose parents that then turn around and neglect them once they are born?”

She was uncomfortable with such questions. These were questions for a Vedek not for a Ranjen and she told him so.

“So as a Ranjen what exactly do you do? I’ve seen you follow around your Vedek, babysit these companions, and crouch over those logs and accounts. Do you do anything else?”

“I am a direct assistant to Vedek Ella. That is my primary task. I look after the companions because no one likes to do it but the temple guards and those are always male.”

“Where do those temple guards come from anyhow? They lack proper armor and equipment but they do seem to be the most strapping men unlike the monks.”

“They are sons born to the male companions so they get to keep their sons but not their daughters. The Mi’tino castes are often the mothers of those boys so they grow up larger and stronger than the temple men.”

“What does the Mi’tino caste do?”

“They are farmers and laborers.”

“Ah, makes sense then. They have genetic advantages that make them tall and muscular. They would make good soldiers in a real army.”

She snorted, “A real army? Why would we large numbers of violent men? We are a peaceful people! Our Vedek Assembly and lawmakers of the Ke’lora caste prevent most crimes.”

“Do they? I’ve wandered the trashier streets where your so called ‘unclean’ live in hovels. There is crime festering in those places and your temple guards never go near there to prevent it. Neither do your lawmakers. It is almost as though there is terrible inequality in your caste system. Clearly our temple donations do not go there!”

Izo blushed crimson which didn’t flatter her features. At least she didn’t think so. Lucius looked at her blushing skin in rapt fascination for a moment. He grinned at the reaction. That made her redder and madder.

“What about your rank system?” she shouted. “How could that possibly be effective? How many titles have you had in your lifetime? How can you possibly keep track of who is who and what your place is in the world?”

“The ranks start from a Garhec and go all the way up to a Legate,” he told her. 

“And what are you again?”

“A Glinn.”

“How far up the rank system is that?”

“My next rank would be a Gul and then up to a Legate but there are sub ranks and much I would have to do to earn it.”

“It sounds like you must have been through a lot of work to gain what you have already. Aren’t you exhausted? Are you never satisfied with what you have, Cardassian?”

“I enjoy the respect and prestige I gain with each rank. I don’t have to wait an entire lifetime for the reward or self satisfaction. I was not born trapped into a certain rank with no prospect of advancement. How does your society improve if you are stuck as you are with your lot in life? You told me Zerena would be happier as an artist. Because she was born to a priestess or nun she can’t express herself properly. Even as you and I argue there is a little girl born into the artisan caste struggling to make a passable pot. She can’t do it so she is labeled a failure until she can make something mediocre. Then it is sold at market not because it is truly a work of art or passion but simply because it was made by the hands of a designated artist. If I go to market I have the freedom to buy from any stall. I don’t have to limit myself to castes. I could ask Zerena to buy her beautiful pots and I can ask the other girl if she could make me something else. What if she wanted to be a sailor? What if she was born to harvest fish from the waters? She and her proper caste are being robbed.”

Now Izo’s head was spinning. She couldn’t argue with the Cardassian’s logic. Why did they have to be so logical and practical? Why did he have to keep getting so close to her? Why did he keep asking her these troubling questions that she didn’t dare to ask herself?

“Why do you keep coming here if you have no interest in the companions?” she demanded. “And do you realize that what you are getting out of me for free is, arguably, a sort of spiritual counseling?”

“I’m just making conversation, Ranjen Izo. I am not here to convert and I am not here to mount anyone.”

“Don’t call me by my first name! Call me Lodre, my surname, as is proper! Are you secretly homosexual? One of your comrades slips into a room with a female companion and then takes a secret passage to visit the men. Why does he have to be so secretive about it?”

Lucius hissed and looked greatly disturbed, “I will pretend I did not hear that! Don’t name the man, I don’t want to know! If you told me I would be forced to report him!”

“But why?”

“Lentin told you that it is a crime on our planet. Homosexuals are sent to conversion camps or executed on the spot! No, I am not homosexual!”

“Well it’s not a crime here!”

“That doesn’t matter to my superiors! Among ourselves, we keep to our customs and rules. Please understand that!”

“Fine.”

“Thank you!”

“You're welcome!”

“Sh!” a passing monk shushed them.

“We were shouting!” Lucius realized. “We were shouting!”

“We are sorry!” Izo was still shouting.

“Sh!” the monk shushed again.

“I don’t understand what that means!” Lucius said loudly. “Use your words, monk!”

“Be silent!” he growled.

“Do we have to be rutting to be loud?” the Cardassian responded.

Izo couldn’t help herself. She began to laugh far louder than she had been shouting. The Cardassian laughed too. The monk began to turn purple and that made them both laugh until they were in pain. The monk decided to give up trying to make them be quiet and stormed off. 

“The real reason I keep hanging around talking to you, Izo, is because Cardassians are very fond of conversation,” Lucius said once they had recovered from their fit of laughter. “I am forced to babysit my comrades much like you are forced to babysit your sisters. What do you say we go to dinner just the two of us? Tell me about Bajoran cuisine. Tell me about you. Are you allowed to do those things? You said I’m not supposed to talk to your about spiritual matters.”

“I could ask permission of Vedek Ella to leave the temple. But why do you want to do those things with me?”

“I thought asking for your services the first day made my intentions very clear.”

She became angry again, “Oh, so you are trying to get that sort of thing for free outside of the temple?”

“I want to court you, woman! I want to court you properly! We have already been engaging in some light Cardassian courtship. Didn’t you know that?"

“We are?” she had sensed nothing romantic all this time.

“We have been engaging in fierce debate and we haven’t tried to throttle each other. We have gathered some personal information, assessed each other’s minds and moods. I can smell pheromones indicating you are attracted to me, Izo, and I’ve been standing close so that you would pick up on mine.”

“Ph-Pheromones?” she stammered. 

“Pheromones are-“

“I know what they are!” she snapped. “It’s just that we can’t smell them consciously like you apparently can!” 

“Well that explains it!” Lucius offered her the palm of his hand. “Press two fingers to my palm to accept my dinner invitation. If you don’t want to accept show me a closed fist instead.”

She stared down at his hand distracted by just how human it looked besides the gray color. They were less rugged and callused than she would have expected of a soldier. He waited far more patiently than she might have. Then, before she knew what she was doing, she pressed two fingers to the center of his palm for a brief moment. His skin was softer than she thought it would be too.

“Most excellent!” he grinned. “Do let me know next week if Vedek Ella will allow me to take you away from this prison for a night.”

“I will.”


	4. Market Date

“Vedek Ella, may I have permission to accompany Glinn Sindus outside the temple for an evening?”

“Accompany him?” the Vedek frowned. “Doesn’t he have plenty of soldiers of his own kind for that?”

“I volunteered to instruct him on Bajoran food and other domestic customs.”

“Just call it what it is, Izo, you are going on a date with an alien! How exciting!”

She scrunched her nose ridges, “I suppose.”

“I was wondering when the two of you would follow your instincts. I won’t ask for more details. Be back before dawn the following day.”

Izo was pleasantly surprised that Ella granted her permission so easily. It was almost as though she didn’t care Lucius wasn’t an ordinary Bajoran man. The other clergy would probably tell her to reject him and send him to the companions if he wanted to experience Bajoran culture. More than one of them could cook him a meal. But if that was all the soldier wanted, he could have had that at any time. She kept track of the logs. Lucius had never used the companion system.

Her sisters were less casual about the affair. The companions slept with the aliens, yes, but less than half would actually date or wed them. There were too many unknowns. No one really wanted to bear a casteless child. Zerena seemed happy but she had never truly belonged. She officially kept her status but she had absorbed herself with her new family entirely and might as well be gone. Her son was named for the Bajoran word ‘miracle’ but others called him ‘snake spawn’ behind her back.

“Do you like this Cardassian?” Genii asked.

“I will determine that later.”

“Didn’t you tell me you saw these aliens in your Orb experience? I slept beside you after that. I remember hearing you talk as you had nightmares. You spoke of them bringing chaos and disorder. You said they would upset the balance of our world.”

“I did?” why couldn’t she remember this?

“You did! I knew if you told the Vedeks that they would react badly. They don’t like negative prophesy and threw out the old scrolls and books that said anything remotely unpleasant!”

“How do you know the nightmares had anything to do with what I saw in the Orb? I saw many things. I can’t even describe them. I think I was holding a baby-“

“A hybrid like Zerena’s?” Genii said sharply.

“I don’t know,” Izo struggled to remember.

“Don’t let those snakes in!”

“What have they done to you?” Izo demanded. “Are you just jealous that they overlook you and choose other girls every time to be their companion?”

That seemed to strike a nerve, “Just don’t spread your legs for that creature. That’s all he’s after. He doesn’t want to pay and is a cheap opportunist. I’ve seen how these men behave away from the temple guard!”

“What if I decide I want to bed him?” Izo asked without a hint of humor or sarcasm. “Am I not allowed to have desires of my own? Does my body and mind not belong to me but to the temple or to you? Am I I not free to give myself to a partner of my choosing?”

Genii had no backhanded answer to that. She stepped away soundly defeated by logic.

Izo had never seen a Cardassian out of their armor or uniform. When Lucius came to fetch her, he was wearing Bajoran clothing! She rubbed her eyes.

“Is it dazzling or nauseating?” he asked like a self-conscious teenage girl.

“I’m sorry,” she blinked rapidly, making her eyes flutter. “It’s just different in a good way.”

“Oh?”

“You look far more approachable.”

“Do my people frighten you so much?”

“Not me.”

“Maybe you should be afraid,” his tone became grim.

He seized her by her shoulders a little roughly and let out a snake-like hiss. 

“Does that trick actually work with children?” she smirked.

“It has caused grown men to turn tail and run from me, believe it or not.”

“I apologize for their cowardice.”

“Never apologize for the faults of others. Now come! The Bajorans on the streets have foods I’m dying to try! I hope you are hungry!”

“The streets?” she had expected a wine and dine sort of event.

“I want the real stuff, woman! Not the fancy dressed up slop! The cooks fear to make the hasperat spicy. They don’t want to risk burning the sensitive tongue of the terrifying alien! We have a stronger stomach and finer palate than you know!”

“Don’t you also prefer meat dishes and require less food?”

“That doesn’t mean I won’t sample everything in sight!”

He tugged her arm like an eager child. He insisted on going to the wet markets and the street vendors. She hesitated when they approached the stalls.

“What is it?” he asked. “Do you never venture out of the temple walls? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”

“No, I’m not embarrassed. I rarely leave the temple, but the truth is that I am not allowed to buy and sell from those of a different caste than me.”

“How can you tell they’re not your caste? I certainly can’t tell.”

“It is displayed for all to see on our earrings.”

“Oh! So that is why you wear those dangling things!”

“They have great spiritual importance to us as well. Don’t just mistake them for social badges, please! It’s a rite of passage for a girl or boy to receive one. Do you have such rites?”

“We graduate from grueling tiers of school. Well, how are you going to sample the food with me if you can’t buy or sell from ninety percent of the stalls?”

Izo shrugged helplessly but the Cardassian lit up with an idea. He made a round through all of the nearby stalls until his arms were full of various foods. He had purchased two of everything and then he gestured her to sit with him in a sort of picnic area. She couldn’t help but be excited. She had never had the opportunity to try many of the vendors despite the glowing reviews she had heard. 

“The street food is cheap but your pockets will be empty within hours if you keep this up!” she said. “Let me pay you.”

“No!” he popped a jellied candy into her mouth. “Eat!”

After she swallowed, she said, “Thank you, but that was supposed to be a dessert. Shouldn’t we sample the food in the correct order?”

“I’m used to having strict time limits when it comes to eating and usually can’t worry about those details. The military wants us operational and don’t encourage savoring the food. I’m off duty now so tell me what to eat first. Tell me what it is and how it is made if you can.”

“Of course I can do that!” she plucked up a jumja stick. “This is also a type of candy. It’s incredibly sweet, so be careful if you don’t like that flavor. It’s made from the sap of the tree of the same name. It’s a long but rewarding process.”  
“I am impressed! You know how every item is made, don’t you?”

“Of course we do! We meditate on our food and the farmers that grow grains, fruits, and vegetables, the butchers that prepare meats, and the cooks that refine it all, each of them takes their work as a serious and sacred act. Our labor is our life. We learn to savor our food and know as much as we can about it.”

“I have never seen the process of food production,” Lucius admitted.

“Why not? I thought you said your society doesn’t have a caste system like ours.”

“There’s not a caste system but there are social circles and hierarchy. It’s just not nearly as cut and dry as your culture is with your system. No one is deemed unredeemable or untouchable. No one is born a criminal. I just don’t visit the factories or farms because they are run by machine with a handful of laborers in comparison. They stink to the stratosphere and are dirty. They are out of sight and out of mind. It isn’t like here. Your farmlands stretch on for eons and have people teeming within them like fish in a coral reef.”

Izo sipped at a bowl of kelp soup and said, “This was harvested from the local coast. Bajor exports her arts and crafts and sometimes food, but we import only what we need and cannot provide for ourselves. There isn’t much we don’t have already.”

“You are extremely fortunate. My home planet relies entirely on imports. The Cardassian Union is always hungry. It is always recruiting. It is always-“

“Fighting wars?” Izo blurted. 

He paused before another bite and said, “The best defense is offense. We do have allies and not just enemies.”

“Bajor could learn much from your people,” she set her food aside too. “But what would you get from my people?”

“We absolutely need your raw materials and food. You need our technology. We are at least a hundred years more advanced than your civilization.”

“Ever think we might not want to be intergalactic warlords and spoil ourselves with tech that would make us fat, lazy, and cause our paghs to sicken?”

“Please, Ranjen,” Lucian rolled his eyes. “Are you telling me that refusing to alter your crops or use pesticides is somehow hurting your spirits? You will get far more yield from a crop if you simply play around with the genetic code of your crops. Less people will go hungry. You will garner more seed.”

“Don’t they breed crops on your planet that are entirely seedless?” Izo accused. “What a horrifying contradiction of nature! Plants are supposed to, well, seed! You mean to tell me that your farmers have to buy seed every single year instead of simply use the last harvests seed?”

“We don’t like unreliable numbers on Cardassia. We must account for every seed and they must be the best. Our labs provide that. Why should the farmers use old seed?”

Izo realized this topic was far too complicated for them to hash out over a single night. She wanted to enjoy herself and the food before her that was growing cold. She began to eat again and the Cardassian quickly devoured his portions and yanked her hand so he could buy more.

In the end, he did sample almost everything. She became full long before him and hated the idea of wasting anything. Before she could do anything with it, Lucius packed it up and started leading her down toward a hovel. She became nervous and followed reluctantly. She had never been to this part of her city before. She didn’t belong there. She didn’t want to be alone either. As long as she was with the alien she had an excuse to be where she was and he would certainly protect her.

“Come on out, my friends!” Lucian called.

“It’s the soldier!”

Three little boys came crawling out of trash heaps. They were dirty and ragged. Izo couldn’t help but take a step back. They were not wearing earrings because they were so young but the Imutta caste could always be identified by how soiled they were. Technically she wasn’t even supposed to look at them! She gasped and turned her face away.

“I’ve brought food for you!” 

“Our hero!”

The children fawned on him and ate every scrap that he gave them. They even broke into the bones to suck at the marrow. Then they demanded that Lucien play spring ball with them. He gestured at her to join but she threw him an angry look.

“I’m afraid I have upset my date, children,” he said lightly to the disappointed boys. “I must not neglect her. Tomorrow I will play with you boys. That is a promise.”

“Don’t forget!”

“Cardassians never forget!”

They laughed and went along their merry way. Lucius turned to Izo.

“Can we please get out of here?” she snapped. “You are going to get me into trouble! Genii is a jealous little sack of slime at times, but I’m starting to wonder if she was right about your people.”

Lucius scowled, “What did your friend Genii say?”

“I won’t repeat her words out of context.”

“Then give me the full context!”

“I can’t speak for her, Lucius. Take me back to the temple.”

“You are angry I am forcing you to interact with children?” Lucius hooted. “That’s it, isn’t it? You are so sucked into this caste system you are blinded! Notice I touched those children and their inherent ‘sin’ as you call it didn’t rub off on me? They are born clean slates, Izo! They are children! If they were born on Cardassia it wouldn’t matter whose loins they sprang from they would be in a proper school getting a proper education. They would be given the same opportunity as all the other children. It is up to them to earn their place once they are adults. Cardassians encourage our youth to work for something better! Are you telling me those children deserve miserable lives?”

Izo scrambled and began to recite scripture.

“You quote an old man or woman from generations ago that benefited from a broken system and have never bothered to question it?” he interrupted her.

“Lucius, this is our culture! This is our way!” she shouted. “Those children were not always children. They were criminals in their past life!”

“Prove it!”

“Prove it?”

“Yeah, prove it! Give me empirical evidence not faith based arguments! This is why Cardassia swore off religious and superstitious logic ages and ages ago! It causes a normally intelligent and caring woman like you to snub your nose at children!”

Izo got so red in the face and so angry she couldn’t even speak for a minute. She was angry because he made so much sense. Deep down she had always hated the caste system. Part of her wanted to run from the temple and the caddy girls and play with the girls at the market. She wished she didn’t have to rely an alien to buy her a jumja stick! 

It always took an outsider to point out how truly stupid tradition could be.

“We were supposed to be on a date!” she burst into tears.

“Ranjen Izo?” the poor Cardassian seemed helpless. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. Don’t cry!”

“Why not?”

“It hurts me to see you cry.”

“Lucius, take me somewhere so no one will see me crying.”

“As you command.”

He brought her to a public park and yet there were sand gardens and trees and shrubs aplenty to keep them hidden even in a public place. Lucius still looked terribly uncomfortable. She realized emotional displays must be discouraged or strange in his culture.

“Do you never cry?” she asked.

“We can cry,” he simply said.

“What makes you cry?”

For the first time he looked scared, “I’d rather not say.”

“I’m crying because I’m frustrated,” she told him. “Our people are not ashamed of tears.”

“What do your men do in these situations?”

“I like it when a man holds me.”

Lucius put his arms around her. She couldn’t help but stare at his scales. They were silent as they gazed up at the stars.

“Lucius,” she squeaked.

“Yes?”

“Are you ever going to kiss me?”

“Kiss you?”

“Yes, do Cardassians never kiss?”

“Some do. In my household we do not.”

“Oh,” she cast her eyes down.

“Do you like to kiss?”

“Sometimes.”

“Would you like me to kiss you?”

She felt her heart racing at the prospect but said, “Is it something you’d rather not do?”

“I want to try it with you. It’s not a bad custom.”

She pressed her lips to his in a sweet peck. He smiled and kissed her with a little bit more force.

“I’ve seen Bajoran couples kiss open mouth,” he sounded a bit shy.

“Do you want to try that?’ she wasn’t crazy about that, but she was willing to try.

“Sure.”

They kissed awkwardly and Lucius frowned, “I prefer not using tongue. It’s a little sloppy and messy.”

She giggled, “You know what? I always thought so too. I prefer kissing the other way.”

“So do I.”

They kept practicing kissing until dawn spoiled their fun.


	5. Disillusionment

“Lucius, would you care to tell your men to be gentler with the girls when they come to call on them?” Izo complained.

“What have they done?” he straightened his spine and showed he was listening intently.

“Nothing serious, but they are getting pushy and wearing out the girls. A few of them admitted they are beginning to use numbing agents and seeking a healer after particularly long nights.”

“Numbing agents?” he looked horrified. 

Izo lowered her voice, “I looked at a girl’s throat last night and told her never to use it there ever again. She had bruises and abrasions. I encouraged the girls to inform the men when it starts hurting rather than hiding it. I trust you will tell your men to curb their passion?”

“You can count on me,” he grimaced. “And how are they being pushy?”

“The same girl was in the middle of conversation with a Bajoran client. Her regular Cardassian arrived and decided he was too impatient and he shouldn’t have to wait. It’s not like the girls make appointments for this sort of thing. We rely on social constructs and an honor system. Generally if a client arrives before another the person that arrived later waits.”

“It is the same in our society. Did my man get violent?”

“The men got into a shouting match. The Cardassian tossed coin onto the ground, double the normal amount, and he declared that since he was paying double he should be bumped ahead in the list and the Bajoran man should be the one to wait.”

“That is not how the donation system is supposed to work!”

“I’m glad you understand that!” Izo snapped. “I’m sorry, I’m not angry at you, Lucius. I reminded the soldier of the rules but then the Bajoran man told him he would wait if he gave some of that coin to him directly instead of the temple.”

“Sounds like a compromise was reached.”

“A compromise?” she looked at him with incredulous eyes. “That was money that should have gone to the temple.”

“The Bajoran man probably needed it. I’m sure he’ll pay the temple and treat himself to a companion again. Even if he doesn’t use it in the temple, he can afford to buy himself a decent meal. I don’t understand the problem. It sounds like the men sorted it out cordially. I thought you were not a miser for the temple.”

Izo hesitated then shook her head firmly, “It disturbs me that the Cardassians are getting so entitled and possessive of my sisters. They are making the Bajoran men feel emasculated and jealous.”

“Are their egos so fragile?” Lucius snickered.

“It’s not funny!” she roared.

His smile faded and he stood straight again, “I will tell my men to be more respectful.”

“Thank you,” she gave him a peck. “I knew I could count on you.”

“Maybe the donation fee should be lowered for clients of the lower caste,” Lucius suggested just as she was about to walk away feeling vindicated. “Then perhaps those of the Imutta clan could contribute to their society, gain some good karma, and they can experience a little warmth and comfort from a woman now and then.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and said over her shoulder, “Impossible!”

“Why?”

“Ugh!” she gritted her teeth and scrunched her nose. “Why? Why? You sound like a child!”

“It’s a legitimate question, Ranjen. Explain to me why the Imutta are the only men and women not allowed to benefit from the companion system?”

“They are untouchable!”

“We’ve already established they’re not toxic,” Lucius was belittling for the first time with her. “The real reason is they are poor and because they never get new blood, they’re rife with disease and inevitable inbreeding. They can’t possibly afford to donate because they can barely feed themselves. They work for almost nothing! Your poorer clients have to save up months or years for one visit to this temple. Those of the higher castes are throwing around chump change by comparison. It’s also why my men find themselves here so often. We pay them, even the lowest ranked soldiers!”

“My girls don’t get paid, Lucius!” she hissed. “Would you like me to show you that girl’s throat so you can see the damage done with your own eyes?”

“I will confront my men! You should confront your leaders!”

“I am not a Vedek! Once I am a Vedek I can propose such changes.”

“One woman’s opinion against hundreds?” Lucius sneered. “Whether you are a Vedek or a Ranjen it won’t matter. Only the Kai himself could probably give your society the change it desperately needs.”

“What would you have him do?” she demanded. “Abolish the system overnight? Turn our world upside-down? The caste system needs to be relaxed not dismantled!”

“You don’t have to wait to become a Vedek to see for yourself the writing on the wall!” Lucius said in challenge. “Go speak to your Vedek Ella and ask her to propose looser restrictions on the caste system. Have the Vedek Assembly debate next session about whether the Imutta caste really is untouchable.”

“Fine, I will!”

She stomped away as he smiled after her. Then he gathered his men and ordered them to return to their communal lodging. He would never berate them in front of aliens. Once they were safely out of hearing and sight, he let them have it. 

“I have heard that you have been acting like wild beasts!” he shouted.

“We are not on Cardassia and we have diplomatic immunity,” said a junior officer. “We pay these girls for a service. Do they demand more money? We have plenty to give them.”

Lucius smoked the unit for that comment until the men were pushed to their physical limit and then just a little bit beyond. Once they seemed to have had enough and were far too exhausted for more bold and terrible comments, he began to speak in a low soft voice.

“Diplomatic relations should never be taken so advantage of. If you behave outrageously toward these women again, I will report those soldiers doing so. Maybe you will get a slap on the wrist. Maybe you will get court marshaled. The point is we don’t want to give these aliens any reason to eject us! We are evaluating them as potential allies. Your behavior reflects poorly on not just the individual but your reputation is directly tied to this unit, to our military as a whole, and to Cardassia! Do you understand me?”

“Aye, sir!”

“What?”

AYE, SIR!” they used all the air in their lungs to reply.

“Now stop being a disgrace! If a single woman comes to me and complains about one of you again, I’m docking pay and prohibiting the entire unit from the temple maiden vaults. Got it?”

“AYE, SIR!”

“Disperse!”

They scattered and kept their eyes low to avoid individual punishment. He hoped he had gotten through their thick skulls. If they disagreed with him they weren’t dumb enough to voice it or show it in their body language. They didn’t joke about it amongst their comrades later either. Cardassians thrived on reporting any hint of insubordination. Lucius was a well respected Glinn that had never treated the men beneath him unfairly. There was never a problem with his unit again, but they were only one unit of a legion of soldiers.

As Lucius dealt with his men, Izo approached Vedek Ella. She was armed with scriptures and had meditated a long while. She realized that Lucius wasn’t wrong to challenge them. She had never truly wondered why the Imutta seemed so quick to turn to crime and prove time and time again they were irredeemable. She thought of those boys Lucius had befriended. They were children the same as the children running around the temple. The only difference was that they were dirtier and hungrier. Yet they were never shown anything but contempt from all the rest of the Bajorans. They were self-fulfilling prophesies doomed to either die young or to become thieves and beggars.

“Vedek Ella,” she cleared her throat.

“Yes, Ranjen?” she turned to her with a motherly smile. “How are you and your soldier getting along? He’s been coming to fetch you every other week for the past few months. That seems to be a good sign!”

“It must be so.”

“Are you considering marrying him?”

Izo blinked and said, “My dear Vedek, I am not here to discuss the Glinn. I am here to discuss pressing spiritual matters-“

“You getting married is a pressing spiritual matter!” Ella’s entire expression changed to that of a stern maternal figure.

Once again, the older woman had pulled the rug out from under her, “My marriage is my personal business. The Prophets have much better things to worry their divine heads about.”

“You are wrong. If you marry a Cardassian you may become like Zerena.”

“Wait, I thought you wanted me to see Lucius?”

“Yes. I was hoping that with your beauty and charm you could convert him.”

“C-convert him?” she stammered. “Vedek Ella, the Prophets call to us to follow them.”

“Are you saying aliens can’t hear the calling?”

“No! Look, I wanted to discuss something entirely different!”

“If you marry him you might gain some influence over him. Have him starting going to services. If he converts it is highly likely the men beneath him will see the light. You have opened his heart. Now you must find his pagh, if he has one.”

“If he has one?” Izo’s mouth gaped open. “I didn’t think that was in question!”

“Sorry, that was a bad joke. I’m sure he has one. Zerena was supposed to marry her Cardassian and lure him to services. Since she had her hybrid son they have never stepped foot in the temple. I am disappointed with that girl. I know if you can help your lover to convert the rest of the Vedek Assembly will be impressed! It’s just the sort of thing that would earn you the rank of Vedek yourself! I am ready to retire, my daughter, and I want you to replace me. This is your perfect opportunity and you do enjoy this Cardassian’s company, don’t you?”

Izo stared at Ella for a long spell. Was she really suggesting that she marry an alien for ambition alone? Was that really the way the wanted to earn her spot on the Vedek Assembly? Was she not that different from a companion after all? She had hoped all these years that her Vedek had more faith in her than that. She had seemed genuinely open and accepting of the Cardassians. Now she was slapped with the horrible truth. 

She invoked her beloved Glinn’s posture and manner and said steadily, “It has always been my desire to become a Vedek.”

Ella’s lips began to curl into a smile again.

“However,” Izo continued, “I need to know if becoming a Vedek would truly make me happy in the end. Would I be able to make a difference? Would I have friends and allies? Would I be allowed to question doctrine and propose change?”

“What sort of change?” 

“Vedek Ella, what would realistically happen if you or I proposed that the Imutta caste be allowed basic rights that other Bajorans enjoy? What if they were allowed to enter the temples and join in the services? What if they could buy and sell with at least some of the other castes lower in the pecking order? What if the temple allotted more of its generous funds to improve their lot?”

Her Vedek reached out and touched her cheek in what was supposed to be a benevolent gesture, “My Izo, you seek to become a Kai or Prophet now? Is becoming a Vedek not enough?”

“I don’t care about the status!” Izo touched the hand upon her cheek, seeking solidarity, “I never really cared about the status or the scriptures that supported this awful system. I do, however, want to help others. I want Bajor to be better. I think the Prophets would smile on us if we transcended the old tradition. It served its purpose in our past. Can’t we have a better and brighter future? Maybe these aliens could teach us how to build a better society in that way and not so much with their weapons and tech. Lucius has helped me to see that we have been holding ourselves back!”

“Lucius helped you to see that? Not the Prophets? Is this something you saw in your Orb vision?” Ella took her by the chin firmly.

“I think the Cardassians are here to bring change,” she said and her voice sounded almost like another woman’s. “They will bring it with the point of a sword or open arms. It will be one or the other. The Prophets sent them to be both Destroyers and Creators.”

Vedek Ella let go of her face as though Izo’s skin burned her. She was chilled to the bone. Perhaps there was an Oracle hidden deep in the recesses of the younger woman’s pagh. She made no sign she had said anything alarming at all. She was certainly aware of what she said. She didn’t think of it as anything more than common sense. 

“I thought you believed as I did, Ella,” Izo sounded sad. “If I was a Vedek and I asked the Assembly to grant the Imutta the slightest mercy, I would be verbally assaulted and then shunned, wouldn’t I? I would probably be stripped of my newfound glorious status and excommunicated and labeled a heretic.”

“Yes, you probably would be,” the Vedek whispered.

Izo snickered, “Will nothing ever change, then?”

Ella stared back at her helplessly. Izo shrugged her shoulders. She left the scriptures and texts near the shrine before them. She turned her back to the Vedek. She walked past the temple guards and out into the street. She wandered until she found Lucius with the three Imutta boys. They were playing a game of springball. When he saw her, he gestured for her to join. The children gaped at her as she picked up a racket and swung.

Once the game was done and the children waved goodnight and returned to whatever heap they had come from, she clasped her Cardassian’s hand. 

“Did you face your battle?” she asked him.

“I did. I’m confident you won’t have any more problems from my men,” he answered. “Did you face yours?”

“I did. I’m afraid I came to a standstill with my enemy. I came to a realization that I have been fighting the wrong battle.”

“Oh?”

“I’m no good at battles, Lucius. I want to make love and not war.”

“My translator is having trouble with that one.”

“Lucius, will you marry me?”

“Marry you?” his translator was crystal clear with that question. “Do the men not propose on this planet but the women instead?”

“Am I about to be defeated again, my soldier?” she laughed.

“No! I would be delighted to be your husband! I’m just annoyed that you asked before I could! This means we have to have a ceremony in the temple, don’t we?”

“I’ll announce it to them later. I think I want a taste of your culture for a change. Why don’t you take me home and provide me with a Cardassian meal. Then explain to me how marriage on your planet works.”

He put an arm around her and nuzzled her. His face was bursting with poorly concealed joy. She nuzzled him back and let out her best imitation of a snake-like hiss. 

“Lorhoc çadav-ra edek,” she said to him, displaying that she had been tuning in to Cardassian conversation when she could.

“Lorhoc cadav-ra edek,” he replied back.


	6. Rachat

Less than a year later, Lucius and Izo welcomed their first hybrid son into the world and named him Sindus Lukus. Zerena brought her son Ihme over often so that he would have a playmate. Marriages between Bajoran women and Cardassian men became something of a trend. They didn’t just marry companions they impregnated either. Women from the lower castes were happy to date and wed men that could provide easily for a family. The men were soldiers that naturally adopted protective roles. Their children were born with the perks of being casteless.

It sounded like a horrible thing at first to have a child that was casteless. The hybrid children would always be looked at as foreigners, but the pros outweighed the cons. There was a new community being born on the planet of Bajor. Mothers reached out to other mothers living in more distant provinces and encouraged them to move to the capital with their new families. Dozens of them answered the call so the children would not grow up so lonely. 

Some of the Cardassian fathers converted after all. The mothers brought their sons to be blessed and accepted by the temple even if they were casteless. Izo managed to convince Zerena and the other adults to attend services for the sake of their children. It felt wrong to make a show of faith but it cost very little to do so and saved the hybrids and the parents from being ostracized.

Izo was pregnant again when Vedek Ella retired officially and put forth the mother’s name as her replacement. She seemed pleased with her ward but their relationship was never the same. Izo thought her happiness was the most important thing to the woman. She married Lucius because she wanted to and not for political gain. Her love was not meant to be a tool for recruitment and her children were not insurance. She wanted them to choose their faith and not be pushed into an alien one when they were old enough to decide. Lucius didn’t convert but she had never required that of him.

The Vedek Assembly seemed pleased enough with Izo. They gave her the rank of Vedek and named her in an elaborate ceremony. She accepted the title but felt hollow as she went through the motions. Her duties had barely changed and when she looked up into the Kai’s face, she was unimpressed. He was just an old man growing more jaded and conservative with every passing year.

When she sat in on the sessions with her peers, she was disappointed that all they seemed to speak of was the temple funds and projects. They squabbled about mundane scripture that focused on proper attire. They constantly discussed adding to their ranks and arguing about what land to build a new shrine upon. Their favorite subject to discuss was the budget for each religious holiday. She was so bored she twitched in her seat as her bottom became sore or numb. 

She had imagined that these debates would be lively affairs full of controversy and spirituality. She expected the Kai to speak on behalf of the Prophets. She thought maybe the Orbs would be consulted more often. The truth was that the Kai looked as bored as she felt. He would murmur a blessing and listen to his underlings argue. The Orbs were closeted away and never mentioned. When he was begged to conclude something he would announce he would meditate on the matter. Likely he would just forget about the it entirely unless it was some policy that benefited the temple. Then he was lightning quick to say that the Prophets had approved.

The only excitement Izo experienced during the Vedek Assembly was the moment she went into labor with her second son. She was never so happy to give birth! She dismissed herself and went to the Maiden Vault to relax and pray with her sisters. A healthy boy was soon in her arms and greeted by his father and elder brother. They named him Sindus Ohiam. 

Five years had passed since the Cardassians first arrived on Bajor. Their numbers were now staggering and they had yet to declare Bajor an ally of the Union. They had shown their experts glimpses of their superior tech but nothing more. There were so many soldiers now that the companions of the temple could no longer keep up with their demands. Cardassians began to date more of the common women but were frustrated because many women were still reluctant to wed them and bed them. If a Bajoran woman caught her eye she was often taken or satisfied with her caste and didn’t want to risk her status by coupling with an alien. Women of the Imutta caste were their best bet.

“Why can’t the Cardassians bring more of their women here?” she asked her husband.

“It for two main reasons,” he explained. “First of all it is terribly inconvenient. Second is xenophobia, my dear. Cardassian children should be brought up in proper homes and schools. How can they be Cardassian citizens if they spend too many years on a foreign planet? The few Cardassian women willing to stay here even temporarily are outnumbered ten to one.”

That also explained why so many Cardassian men pursued Bajoran women. So many Cardassians had arrived they could create their own small province by now!

Izo was on her way home to her family. Since she married she had been allowed to move out of the temple and into a neighborhood that had been built specifically to accommodate the Cardassian population. She paused on her way when she heard a woman weeping. She followed the sound until she found a young woman rocking herself and covering herself with a long jacket.

“Are you alright?” she asked the woman.

“You are a Vedek!” the woman gasped. “I can’t speak with you! I can’t speak with anyone! Not even the Prophets will help me!”

“What has happened to you, child?” 

“Don’t look at me!”

Izo ignored her plea. She came closer and realized that the girl’s clothes were torn under the jacket. Her earring proved she was of the Imutta but she no longer cared about that anymore. The girl was quite pretty but her hair was wild and there were superficial cuts all over her skin. She recognized those sorts of tiny cuts and felt a stab of righteous anger. Her girls often displayed those marks after a rough Cardassian client left their bed.

“Who did this to you?” she hissed through her teeth.

“A Cardassian soldier,” she whimpered.

“Do you know his name and unit?”

“I do.”

“Let me take you to a healer and then let us report this!”

“No!”

“Why not? What is the matter with you?”

“I can’t afford a healer.”

“I will pay.”

“W-Why would you do that?”

“Because you are clearly in pain and the healer can confirm what you have been through and report it properly so we can bring your rapist to justice.”

She shook her head, “No! I will take the medical assistance but we can’t possibly report this to anyone!”

“Of course we can!”

“You don’t understand. No one will believe me. The aliens have diplomatic immunity. This has happened to other Imutta girls but my husband will never believe I didn’t want this. He may not take me back. He may beat me for this.”

“Your husband?”

“The soldier had been stalking me for weeks,” the girl whispered. “He offered a ‘donation’. He offered it first to me and then to my husband. I refused. I love my husband. He was mad with jealousy the first time the Cardassian made the offer. He considered it the second time and I feared he would give in. We have a sick child, you understand? The third time he refused but I was starting to reconsider. Well, a few hours ago he decided he was tired of us being indecisive. He grabbed me on my way home alone from work and tossed money at my feet. He paid me. I’m just an Imutta whore.”

“No!” Izo knew she shouldn’t touch her even though she wanted to comfort her. “I’m taking you to the healer and then to my husband. He’s a Glinn and will know what to do in this situation.”

She took the girl to the nearest healer and returned to her husband. Lucius was taking care of their sons and unprepared for her report. He stared in silence after she finished explaining.

“Well, tell me you are going to punish the man!” she didn’t understand his silence. “You do punish this sort of thing severely on your planet, don’t you? Here it is a high crime!”

“We do punish this sort of thing,” he finally spoke. “But I’m afraid everything is different here. There is another problem, wife. The man Is not mine.”

“What do you mean he’s not yours!” she cried. “He’s a Cardassian soldier! He’s of your military! Court marshal him or something!”

“I don’t have the authority to do that. You don’t completely understand how ranks and hierarchy works not only in the military but within Cardassian military.”

“Are you telling me that because he is not directly under your command you have no power to discipline him?”

“I would have to report his behavior to his direct superior and then that man must go up the chain of command. We do not go over heads. The girl he assaulted was an alien. We have no official rules about aliens on our planet only about fellow citizens. I know the Cardassian that commands the malefactor, unfortunately. I know he won’t pursue justice. He is going to ignore this crime and if I tried to take this to the higher authorities, I fear this would cause a diplomatic incident. They will cover this up rather than expose it.”

“Lucius, I thought your military was far nobler than this!”

“I never said we were perfect. Perhaps you could report this to your lawmakers?”

“I could, but if the girl is terrified and unwilling to cooperate, what can I do? If your comrade is going to deny this or justify his actions, what is the point? She is supposed to be untouchable. The temple guards will probably ask if the man caught something from her and say that is justice enough. The girl was lucky to get paid. More Imutta girls are going to suffer and their attackers are going to keep getting away with it!”

Lucius looked helpless and told her, “You know I am not happy about this.”

“Why can’t we do something?”

“Our hands are tied. Neither the Cardassians or Bajorans are going to do anything.”

Five months later the Imutta girl gave birth to a hybrid son she despaired in keeping. Izo and Lucius agreed to take the boy in so he would have a home. His pregnancy may have been unwanted but he did not go unloved. They named him Sindus Rachat and his name loosely translated meant ‘redemption’ in Cardassian. Despite the ill health of the Imutta caste, he was born relatively healthy and his adopted brothers Lukus and Ohiam loved him. Once he was weaned the birth mother wanted nothing to do with him.  
Izo finally worked up the nerve to propose change at the Vedek Assembly. She had heard the whispers in the street that more women were being assaulted or bribed to leave their husbands in order to service Cardassian soldiers without a shred of honor. She demanded that the Imutta caste be given some sort of protection but kept the real details to herself. She didn’t want Rachat to be identified as a product of a tragic crime.

“You want us to protect the Imutta in what way?” the Kai demanded.

“Look how many of them are having relations with the Cardassians,” she said desperately. “Children are being born of these unions. Clearly they are not untouchable and the Prophets have blessed them. Why, then, are we continuously denying their basic rights? We ought to allow them to buy and sell with the lower castes. We should use temple funds-“

Before she could even finish, the Vedek Assembly went into an indignant uproar. How dare she demand such a thing? Using temple funds upon the Imutta? Was she out of her mind?

“The Cardassians reveal their true nature by coupling with such women,” a Vedek said angrily. “They are the lowest of the low. Of course they would welcome aliens in their bed!”

“The temple is always happy enough to take alien money for the temple!” Izo snapped back. “These women have no choice but to turn to alien men over their own. It is almost insane for them not to consider it. And those that won’t are being taken advantage of anyway!”

“It is karma coming back upon them!” another man said. “Let it be! The aliens may be doing us a favor eliminating the caste.”

“Would you say that if they started murdering these men and women in the street?” Izo had never been so angry in her life. “And what of the children? Forget the Imutta, what if the Cardassians started doing this sort of thing to the Mi’tino or the Ih’valla? What if they stormed the Maiden Vault and refused to give donations but demanded services of our nuns and acolytes anyway?”

“That is another matter entirely!”

“And what of your husband and your friends?” the Kai was more involved in this debate than he had ever cared to be in years. “They are Cardassian. Your sons are Cardassian.”

“They are half Bajoran.”

“Only half.”

She became ghastly pale and silent. She realized that her worst fears were being realized.

“Lodre Izo-“

“It’s Vedek Sindus Izo,” she had to correct him.

“It’s simply Sindus Izo now,” the Kai said icily. “You are stripped of your temple rank. If you dare say another word I will strip your caste and excommunicate you too. Our caste system is a sacred tradition. The fact that you would upset the order of our universe proves you are unfit to serve the temple. Get out.”

She wanted to shout a thousand curses back at him. She wanted to rip her robes and toss sand in her hair in a grand display. Instead she thought of what Lucius would do. She gathered what was left of her dignity and she left the temple for good.


	7. Unwelcome

Izo missed the acolytes and some of the friends she had among the companions. She found she didn’t miss the temple itself as much as she thought she would. She focused on raising her sons and had more time to spend with her spouse. She no longer had to rise at dawn and expose herself to the elements as she tried to pray. She didn’t have to put on airs or sit through another awful Vedek Assembly. As she had suspected, becoming a Vedek had not made her happy. If anything, it had made her miserable. She still prayed to the Prophets but she had let go of dogma and prejudice in her heart and Lucius didn’t mind that their boys were instructed in the faith.

The planet of Bajor was having a terrible year. Crops failed all over the planet and there were food shortages for the first time in living memory. The Central Command of Cardassia, their head of government, offered to aid in the distribution of the salvageable harvest. The Bajorans accepted their help graciously. They trusted that with the technology they constantly bragged about the Cardassians would prove their mettle in all matters. 

“I thought Cardassians didn’t focus on agriculture and instead upon its military almost entirely,” Izo said to her husband.

“Do you really think farmers are completely nonexistent on my planet?”

“I don’t doubt that. I just wonder why they feel the need to seize control of our operations, that’s all.”

“You know us. Cardassians like to be in control.”

“Is this normal for integration into the Union?”

“I thought your leaders were uncertain about joining the Union. There are things about Bajoran society that makes smooth transition difficult. The caste system is one example.”

“Yes,” Izo winced. “At least your men aren’t hoarding the food away from the Imutta caste. Perhaps they are the best people to distribute food and goods. My people overlook them on purpose.”

“I would like to hire a tutor for our sons,” Lucius changed the subject. “They need to develop their photographic memories. Since they are casteless, what kind of career can they expect once they grow up?”

“I don’t know,” her heart sank. “Hybrids seemed like they were going to be embraced by my people when the first child was born. Now I am not so sure. Our sons might be better off following in your footsteps and joining the Cardassian military.”

“If they are deemed acceptable,” Lucius sounded uncertain for the first time. “They are not as physically strong as I am. The life of a soldier can be challenging. Don’t the teachings forbid such a path for them?”

“Soldiers keep the peace and defend their people. They don’t always incite violence.”

“I’m glad you see that,” he beamed at his wife.

“Do you think we can find a Cardassian to instruct our boys?”

“Let’s go to the market to find out. We can spread the word there that we are looking for just such a thing. Maybe we can propose a special school so all the hybrid children can attend.”

They gathered up the boys and prepared for a day of socialization and errands. Lukus and Ohiam were old enough to display some of their father’s discipline and intelligence. Rachat was barely more than a babe in their arms. The weather was chilly so Lucius required an extra layer of clothing since he was cold blooded. They bundled up the boys to be safe. Izo didn’t mind and didn’t bother so much about it. She had tolerated worse.

The first thing the family noticed was the lack of inventory at the stalls. When Izo approached an acquaintance of the temple she received a cold shoulder. She was irritated but she understood why. She wanted to buy jumja sticks for the children and thought since the man that owned that stall was of the Mi’tino caste he would let them purchase them as he usually did but he also refused them service.

“I don’t sell to half breeds and snake lovers,” he shot her a hateful look as he declared that.

“What?” Izo’s jaw dropped open in shock.

“You heard me. You are a comfort woman now and your children have no place. Giving birth to them was a cruelty and not a kindness. You should be ashamed!”

“I hope you know who you are talking to!” Lucius growled.

He was wearing Bajoran clothing and wished he was in his glorious armor for once. The family had never experienced anything like this. Izo was confused and hurt but Lucius was angry.

“Are you even certain those are your children?” the man clearly had no clue who he was talking to and didn’t care. “Spoon-heads look the same to me but that little one doesn’t even have your eyes! This woman has probably been had by every alien within reasonable distance.”

“She is my wife and the mother of my children! I am Glinn Lucius Sindus! You will apologize to us now!”

“Or else what? You’ll sell my stall out from under me and offer it to the Collaborators?”

“Collaborators?” Izo had never heard that expression just as she had never heard the term comfort woman.

“That is what we are calling scum from mostly the Imutta caste that become bootlickers of aliens because they despise their own kind. Get away from my stall before I call the temple guard. I have so few jumja sticks this season because the Cardassians destroyed or stole half my trees!”

“Is that true?” Izo looked sideways at her husband as she asked the Bajoran that.

“Why can’t we have a jumja stick if we have the money for it?” Lukus was confused. 

“Jumja sticks are my favorite!” Ohiam began to beg.

“Away with you, vipers!”

“Trust me, you will never see us again!” Lucius hissed.

“There he goes, proving he is a shameless reptile!”

They turned away and noticed that most people at the market either ignored the confrontation that had taken place or cast dirty looks too. Lukus became sullen and Ohiam was crying because he wanted a treat and didn’t understand why he couldn’t have one still. 

“Lucius, are the soldiers destroying crops on purpose?” Izo asked.

“Why would they do something like that?”

“What is a comfort woman?”

He sighed and explained, “It’s what some Cardassians call the companions.”

“Oh, so that man was basically accusing me of being a prostitute!” she flushed with doubled anger.

“Forget him.”

“I can’t.”

“Mother, father, I want to go home!” Ohiam began to throw a fit. “I’m hungry and what’s the point of being here if we can’t buy food?”

“We will cook up a stew when we get home,” Lucius promised. “But you can’t eat until you calm yourself. Remember the breathing exercise we taught you?”

“We came here to find them a teacher, remember?”

“Call me crazy, but I don’t think we will find that here.”

They were halfway home when Izo spotted a familiar face. A Bajoran woman was following a Cardassian man through the street. She called to her and when the other woman turned to look at her Izo’s suspicion was confirmed. It was Rachat’s real mother.

“Where are your husband and son?” Izo asked her.

“My husband left me and took our son with him,” she answered.

“I am sorry!”

“What are you doing with this man?” Lucius eyed the soldier. “I notice he has the same eyes as my youngest son.”

The woman turned a sickly color. The other Cardassian glanced at Rachat and sneered. Izo would have struck the man if she wasn’t holding the baby. She waited for the real father to acknowledge his child. She knew the real mother wouldn’t but she could at least somewhat understand her reasons. What she couldn’t understand was why she was following this criminal around.

Lucius was of a similar mind as his wife. He could never abandon his flesh and blood. Izo had seemed surprised when he proved to be an affectionate father. In public he was reserved but at home he was loving and nurturing as any Bajoran man. He wanted to spit on this Cardassian soldier insulting his uniform and giving his fellow comrades a terrible reputation.

“It looks to me like you are going native, Glinn Sindus,” the man snickered. “At least I’m still in uniform. This woman is my comfort woman.”

“You are a vile monster!” Izo exploded. “May the Prophets curse you forever!”

“He’s the only person that can care for me now!” the girl cried. “Don’t you dare judge me!”

“You are a credit to your unit, soldier!” Lucius said sarcastically. “It’s a shame the two of you couldn’t raise the child you made.”

“He’s better off where he is,” the girl said softly but avoided looking at Rachat. 

“Don’t you know, officer, that Central Command is considering outlawing intermarriages?” the soldier informed Lucius. “Your boys would then be confiscated.”

“No!” Izo gasped. “You are lying!”

“Family is everything!” her husband insisted. “Central Command would never force us to make such a sacrifice!”

“We’ll see about that. Hybrid infants are flooding the orphanages. Have you been hiding that fact from your beloved wife too?”

“I hide nothing from my wife!”

“You are in denial then. Enjoy your marital status while it lasts.”

With those words, the couple turned away from the family. Lukus tugged his father’s hand.

“Who were they and what were they talking about?” the child asked.

“They were no one!” he answered. “They were making up stories.”

Izo played along with his explanation. They cooked a stew, Lucius bathed the three boys, and then Izo led them in prayers before bed. Once the children were safely tucked away, they spoke to each other in low voices.

“Have you been lying to me all this time, my husband?” she had to ask.

“Of course not!”

“Tell me what is happening on my planet. Tell me our children and our union isn’t doomed. Tell me the truth.”

“The problem is that not even I know what is true anymore.”

“Is the Union ever going to accept us as an ally?”

“I don’t know.”

“Would they rip our children from us?”

“I don’t think so!”

“What if they do?”

“I won’t let them!”

“Lucius, I have a feeling you are about to suffer a rude awakening about your people just as I did. It’s time for you to read the writing on the wall. We need to get out of here.”

“Which province of Bajor do you think will be safe?”

She shook her head, “We can’t stay on Bajor. We can’t go to your planet either. We are not the only ones. Think of Zerena and her family and all the others. Are we going to wait for our lives to be stolen from us?”

“Cardassians never surrender.”

“I will fight for you and our children,” she said with conviction. 

“Where will we go?”

“Space is a big place. We will find a place.”

“That would mean abandoning Bajor for you and abandoning Cardassia for me,” Lucius warned her. “That is easier said than done. I would be defecting and I would certainly be labeled a traitor. Every Cardassian would be risking death.”

“I will certainly be excommunicated. That is supposed to be damnation for the soul. Every Bajoran would risk that.”

“We must be very careful about this.”

“Oh, I know. We have so much to lose. They will call me a Collaborator and you a Dissident.”

“Whatever happens, I love you and our children.”

She smiled, “I never thought I’d hear you say those words.”

“The circumstance seemed to require it,” he smiled back.

“You know you can trust your men at least, right?”

“I trust them with my life and they trust me with theirs. Most of them have Bajoran wives and children now too.”

“We must find a planet or moon of our own and spirit ourselves away in secret. We’ll make a home without castes or ranks. We will have no Central Command or Kai.”

“Sounds like a utopia.”

“it’s our only choice.”


	8. Infighting

Izo began to hide her face and her earring whenever she went out into public. She kept the children at home and was always in fear of them being snatched. There had been no official announcement about hybrids yet but she knew it would only be a matter of time. Only those of the Imutta caste would allow her to buy and sell anyway so Lucius went in her stead to the markets. In his full armor and bearing obvious alien features the Bajorans feared him and accepted his money.

Zerena complained that her son had sticks and stones tossed at him. All around Bajor, there were similar stories from other parents of hybrids. Those that hadn’t gathered together did so now for their own safety and not just a sense of community. Lucius began to organize the men in secret knowing he could only trust those that had a child to protect. Sometimes he feared betrayal even from them. It was true that some Cardassians were abandoning their children into the orphanages so they wouldn’t be caught in adultery or rebuked by superiors.

Another year passed and there was another catastrophic failure in crops. The temples had stockpiles of food for emergencies but with so many Cardassians to feed along with their own population, their stores were becoming depleted faster than they could have predicted. There were beggars at the shrines and it wasn’t just Imutta bringing bowls. The Mi’tino caste were suffering and the Va’telo were beginning to overfish the seas. 

More women began to turn to the Cardassians for sustenance from higher castes. The companions in the temple became too expensive in comparison and the temples began to lose revenue. Tensions were reaching a boiling point and neither the Kai nor the governors could give the people any real assurance. Izo feared that one more failed crop and the planet would erupt into civil war.

It was inevitable that violence would happen. Kai Arin made a foolish attempt to appear to his troubled children. He offered to bless all that came to an unprecedented public gathering. The Cardassians and Vedek Assembly warned him against it. The Kai had cloistered himself most of his life. It was better if he remained a mysterious spiritual leader. He insisted the Prophets had spoken to him so the temple couldn’t stop him. The Cardassians offered an elite guard to escort him but the man refused.

Izo and Lucius were uneasy but they attended the gathering. Kai Arin planned to travel to every field of Bajor and touch the soil so that he could pray and encourage the earth to be fertile again. He had become thin, worn, and haggard. The bored look that Izo had become familiar with was gone. In fact, the Kai looked sick and elderly. He had never had to face a true crisis during his service to the people. Now he bore the weight of repeated famine and the growing resentment of aliens gradually infesting their planet. Did he regret welcoming them now?

The Kai stepped away from his personal temple guards and into golden fields of grain. As he was about to pour holy water over the dirt, his life blood spilled out instead. Assassins had been waiting for him, hidden in clever trap doors disguised as clumps of dirt and organic debris. 

A collective cry of grief and alarm rang out through the mob. The temple guard wasn’t quick enough to catch any of the perpetrators. A single assassin was ferreted out by the Cardassians. It was an Imutta man that began to scream that the Kai was false and a new one must take his place. The spirit of the planet had demanded his sacrifice and surely the next crop would be bountiful.

Instead of handing him to the temple guard or to the lawmakers, the Cardassians vowed to enact swift justice. The man was tortured until he confessed to a grand conspiracy. There was a terrorist organization in the poorer parts of the pyramid that made up the D’jarra. A dozen men were snatched from the street and publicly executed within days. The Cardassians encouraged the citizens to seek out suspicious behavior. This was merely the beginning of an uprising against the temples.

This played into the worst fears of the upper classes, of course. The Vedek Assembly scrambled to vote for a new Kai. Izo wished she could return to the temple but she could only attend a smaller shrine instead. Within a week another Kai was elected. It was a man no one had expected. 

“He’s a puppet,” Lucius said in private. 

“Why do you say that?” 

“It is convenient that my people snatched the assassin and promptly executed him after torturing him for information. I know this Kai must be a Collaborator. In the market none of the Bajorans have heard of the Vedek that just became elected. Have you?”

“He was handpicked by the Kai to become a Vedek shortly after I left the temple so I know very little of him,” Izo admitted. “My charges were the female acolytes. I attended Vedek Ella and sometimes I spoke with the male Ranjen. Whoever this man is, he must have been a mere monk last year. I thought your people were very effective torturers. If anyone could get a confession, it would be you! Bajorans couldn’t possibly use the method because it is against our teachings, but it gets results.”

“Torture often causes false confessions.”

“Why would Central Command care about who is Kai?”

“You know the answer to that. You just don’t want to know.”

“The Kai is our spiritual leader and not the head of government.”

“What makes you think your politicians haven’t been infiltrated already?”

Izo shuddered and clasped her youngest close, “What of our plans? Has there been any progress?”

“We are trying to find something hospitable and yet far enough away that the long reach of Cardassia can’t grasp us. That is proving the hardest challenge.”

“We mustn’t delay much longer. We may be forced to flee before we find an ideal place. How long can we stall in space?”

“With our numbers and possibly being hunted? Not long enough.”

They were startled when there was a knock at their door. Izo hid in a secret compartment with the children in anticipation. Lucius opened the door calmly but prepared for anything.

“Oh, it’s you Vedek Ella!”

“I retired, remember? I came to see Izo.”

“Why?”

“She was like a daughter to me for many years, Cardassian! I have known her and cared for her far longer than you! Don’t insult an aging woman! Did you know our tempers get worse with age?”

“I must search you for recording devices.”

“Are all Cardassians so paranoid?”

“Yes.”

“Go ahead!”

Lucius cleared her then pretended to drop a heavy decorative object onto the floor clumsily. The distinctive thudding sound it made could be heard throughout the house. Izo knew it was safe to come out. She was surprised to see her old mentor. They had not had contact for a long while. She was almost as suspicious as her husband.

“Ella, what are you doing here?”

“May I speak with you alone?” the other woman glared at Lucius.

“You are an old fool in truth if you don’t think I’m going to discuss our every word with him immediately after.”

“I don’t care. I want to speak with you.”

Lucius gathered the boys and took them to the furthest room. Ella didn’t know how good his hearing was. He could still hear plenty but at least she would feel comfortable enough to say what she had come to say.

“Izo, they want to excommunicate you, your children, and all the other women and children of Cardassian households,” Ella announced.

“I was wondering when they would get to that,” Izo smiled darkly. “And do you think the Vedek Assembly is doing the right thing? Do you really believe that is the will of the Prophets?”

“By rights, I shouldn’t be speaking with you!”

“You wanted me to marry Lucius!” Izo reminded her. “Do you have amnesia?”

“I wanted you to convert him. The temple isn’t convinced a single Cardassian man has sincerely embraced our faith. Instead, they have led our women astray. The children you bear are abominations. You have been replaced in the Vedek Assembly. Do you know how much that breaks my heart? You were supposed to be my legacy!”

“Who has taken my place?”

“Genii.”

“That tart will love her new power and position.”

“You could have done so much good, Izo. Why did you throw it all away for aliens?”

“I love Lucius and the Prophets gifted us those children!”

“Two of them. Everyone knows that last one isn’t yours.”

“He is our son!”

“It doesn’t matter. He is a hybrid.”

“Did you really come here just to verbally abuse me?” Izo demanded.

“The Kai and the Vedek Assembly are willing to forgive you, child. You don’t have to be excommunicated. All that they ask is that you repent.”

“And what exactly would that entail?” Izo’s limbs were trembling with cold rage.

“Annul your marriage and let the alien take those children back to Cardassia.”

Izo burst out laughing, “I expected as much! This is the will of xenophobic and controlling men of cloth and not the Prophets! Why are you so blind to that, Ella? I admired you so once. I thought you cared about me and didn’t see me as just as a pagh to win over like a tally mark in your book of spiritual conquests. What mother abandons their children? My boys were born here on Bajor and are of Bajor. How can you argue that? Besides, taking them back to Cardassia is not an option.”

“See? Not even their own kind wants them!”

“Listen, old hag!” Izo couldn’t help herself. “Get out of my house! Tell the temple they can excommunicate me from their awful godforsaken system but they will never sever my connection to the Prophets! I had my Orb experience. My gods speak to me personally. The temple has no power over me or my family. Maybe the D’jarra and the temple deserve to be destroyed!”

Ella was horrified, “You really are a heretic. Such a shame you are to your ancestors!”

“Lucius! Throw this woman out!” 

“Gladly!” he was already at the door.

“I will see myself out!” Ella turned up her nose and made her exit.

“Lucius, I need to go to the local shrine nearby,” Izo said.

“Are you insane?”

“I’m avoiding the main temple. I need to pray. I need some sort of spiritual solace.”

“We go together as a family. I don’t want you going anywhere alone.”

“Agreed.”

When they approached the local shrine, however, they were horrified to see that it had been dismantled. There were corpses of the clergy mutilated ritually spread throughout the place. A little girl was weeping in the center of it all. She was spared because she was young and so she could bear witness. Izo gathered the girl to her arms. Lucius began to wash the blood and tears from her face. She seemed frightened of the Cardassian at first but she recognized Izo.

“You are the Vedek that performed my brother’s piercing ceremony!” she cried.

“I am no Vedek, child. I’m about to be excommunicated.”

“Why?”

“I proposed social equality.”

“Did my people do this?” Lucius cupped the child’s face in his hands. “Tell me the truth and I will have them punished!”

“It wasn’t Cardassians that killed my parents,” she sobbed. “It was Imutta. They thought we were hoarding food. “

“The main temple was too big a target for them,” Izo said bitterly. 

“We will take you to the temple grounds but I fear my wife and I can go no further. They will give you room and board,” Lucius placed her on his shoulders gently. 

“You are safe with us!” Lukus told her with pride.

“We are strong and brave!” Ohiam chimed. 

She gasped, “You are hybrids!”

“We are doubly blessed!”

“What is your name, child?” Izo asked.

“Opaka Sulan.”

“If only the D’jarra system had been abolished ages ago,” Izo said softly to her husband but the Bajoran girl listened closely and absorbed every word and remembered their kindness years later. “The Cardassians are certainly exploiting it, aren’t they?”

“For a certainty.”

They surrendered Sulan to the temple guard and reported what had happened. They pleaded with them to give up their stores of grain to prevent further bloodshed. Instead the guards promised to pursue justice with the help of the Cardassian peacekeepers. Lucius knew he would have to contribute to the process itself and groaned.

When they returned home, Izo began to construct a personal shrine. It was a little thing but she knew now it was best to worship privately. Her elder sons eagerly helped her and were able to almost forget the horrifying thing they had seen. Rachat was scribbling upon rice paper. The ink was red and so his father swapped it with black ink instead.

“What is he drawing?” Izo was almost afraid to ask and see.

“A collage of numbers in both Bajoran and Cardassian,” Lucius chuckled. “It almost looks like art.”

She smiled, “Bajoran and Cardassian?”

“Yes, each number is one or the other in no particular order. It seems to be whatever shape he likes better. It is good to see my lessons are sticking.”

“Rachat, little one, may mommy see it?” she beckoned to him.

He trotted over with his drawing. She glanced at the seemingly random glyphs and script and went ghastly pale. Her eyes glazed. Lucius shook her shoulders and called her name in concern. 

“Is mother alright?” Lukus cried in distress. “The blood went out of her face!”

“Mommy?” Ohiam was prompted by his brother.

“I’m alright,” she recovered herself. “The drawing your brother made just wowed me so much!”

She kissed the three boys and put a loving smile on her face. Lucius wasn’t convinced, however, and as soon as the children were down for sleep, he took her temperature and brought her extra food. He wanted to know what had happened.

“Was it the scene we witnessed at the shrine?”

“That was terrible and I feel so wretched for Sulan, but no. I recognized the sequence of strange numbers that our son wrote.”

“You recognized it?”

“I have never told you much about my Orb experience, Lucius. Well, I’ve seen that combination of numbers in my vision. I had never seen Cardassian glyphs so I didn’t know it was anything more than gibberish at the time. The fact they were mixed with Bajoran numbers made it more confusing. With Rachat’s childlike handwriting, half of those numbers don’t even look like proper numbers in either language.”

“The Prophets gave you a glimpse of the future?”

“More than that. I think those numbers are coordinates. Have your men search for those in your computer databases and confirm it. I’m telling you that is where we will find our home. It was written in the stars.”


	9. Exodus

Lucius knew his men wouldn’t like what he had to say but men in command often had to deliver unwanted orders or news. At least they knew they were on Bajor and not Cardassia. The odds of their meetings being spied upon or recorded were astronomically low compared to what it would be on their home planet or upon a Cardassian ship. They used every precaution they could anyway. 

Before he made the dreaded announcement, he checked with them upon a matter of equal gravity.

“What became of the probe we sent to the coordinates I gave you?” he asked. “And were you able to keep what you were doing secret?”

“We used a third party through aliens. They told the military that the probe needed to be decommissioned and was defective. We hope intelligence agents and the Obsidian Order won’t take note. There are no guarantees. The problem with going through aliens is that they have no real reason not to talk.”

“It was a risk we had to take. Did we get any readings? Trying to find a planet or moon capable of biological life so far out in neutral or partially unexplored space is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

His man couldn’t help but smile, “It was a long shot, sir, but we got lucky. The readings that came back to us seemed to confirm that there is a small planet exactly at those coordinates. It could have been a false reading but there’s no way we could get a hold of another probe or send out anything more substantial without raising suspicions.”

“If any fellow Cardassian knew about our mission, we would all be court marshaled and executed as traitors for certain,” Lucius nodded. “We will have to go on faith. Are we all aware of the dangers and risks? It’s possible we could arrive to this destination and find a black hole instead of a tropical paradise. Thousands of other variables could affect our journey there and thousands more unknown or unheard of.”

“What is our alternative, sir?” a junior officer retorted. “If we remain we will be forcibly separated from our wives. They will assign them to other men eventually. Who knows what they will do to our children? At least our wives can find support in their family groups but hybrids are universally hated.”

“Whatever happened?” another soldier murmured. “We were sent here to initiate peaceful relations with Bajor. Now what does Central Command want us to do? Go against our original orders and simply bully and enslave these people?”

“That does seem to be the way of it.”

“Sir, what have they told you?”

“I’m afraid I have been simply told to keep relations stable no matter the cost. Lentin my superior has disappeared. I was told he was assigned to some other branch of our military and should expect a new person above me. I have suspicions I dare not repeat aloud.”

He didn’t have to say his thoughts aloud. Most of his men had come to the same conclusion as him. They were deceived about their mission. Central Command never intended to accept Bajor into the Union. Their goal clearly from the start was to gather information, assess weaknesses, learn how to exploit the flaws within Bajoran society, and to create problems and promise solutions that only Cardassia could provide. Divide and conquer always made invasions easier. For all they knew, Lentin had been an agent of the Order and now he was deep undercover seeking any form of resistance in the Bajorans. 

“Sir, when can we relocate?” they asked eagerly.

“About that: We must not give Cardassia any cause to question us. That is why I must order you each to publicly annul your marriages with your Bajoran wives and to deny the existence of your sons. We will send them ahead of us to the new location.”

He was surprised that only a few men showed visible outrage at this order. That proved that their training had paid off. He didn’t blame those that couldn’t remain silent and disciplined. He had discussed this matter with Izo many times and she had eventually convinced him this was the right decision. He explained why to his men immediately. 

“If we preemptively do this before the inevitable order comes down to us from Cardassia anyway, we will prove our inherent loyalty to our planet and people. After all, who would choose aliens over their blood? It doesn’t matter to the average citizen at home that we have grown attached to our mates here and our children literally have our blood in their veins. They will never be accepted.”

“But what of our personal honor and principles? If we abandon our wives and children how can we sleep at night? We would be encouraging other men to do the same and to treat all Bajoran women like comfort women. We would establish forever that hybrids should be stigmatized. Should we not show an example of the alternative so our people might soften their hearts?” his dissenters argued. 

“Think about your mindset nearly eight years ago when we first arrived here,” Lucius reminded them. “Some of you treated the companions like trash. Don’t deny it. You thought even less of the men.”

More than one man cast their eyes down at that.

“Cardassians are never soft. To the average citizen a Bajoran is merely a hairless ape barely out of caves and have technology no better than the ability to make fire and basic irrigation for their crops. There will be no changing their minds by exposing ourselves as sentimental sympathizers.”

“I refuse to annul my marriage!” his most inexperienced man insisted. “She would see it as confirmation I never cared for her!”

“Our marriages will only be seen as invalid on Cardassia. Once we are gone and have established a new society we will have our own customs and no paperwork will matter. We will not truly abandon our families. We will arrange for them to leave a year ahead of us. Then we must slowly make our own way there. We cannot be noticed or followed. Do you understand me?”

“Aye, sir!” they saluted and then some looked embarrassed. “Are we allowed to say: For Cardassia anymore? We plan to abandon it and sever our former ties forever.”

“What shall our new home be called?”

“My wife and I agreed a combination of a Cardassian word and Bajoran word would be appropriate. We will call it: Had’lenga which translates to ‘House of Divine Spirits’.”

“I guess we should change our motto to: For Had’lenga?” the men joked.

“What if we are sending our families to a hostile environment?”

“Bajor is about to become a hostile environment! We can give them survival kits, rations to feed them for at least that year and weaponry. They may find themselves more in their element than us.”

“What if our wives don’t agree to this?”

“Then your annulments will be real and not fake.”

While Lucius debriefed the Cardassian men, Izo gathered the women together. They gathered to worship at her home and made no secret of it so their meetings were not all that suspect. They were less than welcome at the shrines and temples. They knew she was qualified having been a Vedek temporarily and because her husband was the highest officer she had become a matriarch of their niche community. The wives weren’t happy about the annulments either but marriage customs were different on Bajor. As long as they wore their wedding bracelets and their feelings were still there, the women would never consider themselves single.

The women were a little nervous at the thought of being sent away. It was hard to let their families and home planet go. They wouldn’t face nearly as much wrath as their husbands on Cardassia but they wondered if the Prophets would forgive them. When Izo told them about her Orb experience and the news came to them that the numbers her son had scrawled had proven to be coordinates to a potential home, however, the women were emboldened. They were convinced the Prophets had assigned them all a special task. What more motivation did they need? Many of them actually convinced relatives to join them and they reached out to desperate members of the lower castes. They had daughters from previous marriages as well so their population wouldn’t lack women quite so much. The vast majority of hybrid births produced males after all.

The women hid away their wedding bracelets and moved out of their Cardassian households. They hid their children from members of their family or the neighbors they felt they couldn’t trust. The men requested the proper files from Central Command and were granted them speedily. Luckily none of the children were over seven years old so they were too young to understand much of what was happening. Instead they were told they were going on a trip to a new home and their fathers would join them eventually. 

Izo gathered her sons and all the other women and children upon the first ship that would take them away. They told their relatives they had been summoned by the Prophets and they were going on a pilgrimage to the stars but would return within a few months. They had to say a tearful goodbye to their husbands in secret and pray nothing prevented them from reuniting.

Lucius squeezed her so tight he almost crushed her and his sons clung to his legs. He didn’t shed a tear but the pain of separating was unmistakable in his body language if one knew how to read a Cardassian properly. Izo did. 

“The Prophets will protect us,” she whispered to him. “And they will do the same for you if you accept them.”

“I will accept help from any source,” he answered. “I still have my bracelet.”

“As do I.”

“I will be in Had’lenga in a year,” he promised. “Be good for your mother, boys!”

“We will, father!” Lukus said with determination.

“Goodbye, father!” Ohiam squeaked. “I can’t wait to see the ship and our new home!”

Rachat gurgled.

“We have you to thank for this, little one,” Lucius patted the toddler’s hair.

Instead of a kiss, Izo squeezed his hand one last time and then they parted reluctantly. He waited until he was completely alone to weep. Izo hardened herself, adopted the role of a Vedek, and she led the women and children in prayer.

“We are doing the right thing,” Zerena told her. “Our hearts and intentions are pure. The Prophets spoke to you. We are prepared.”

“You are right,” she managed a smile and looked at Ihme the first hybrid child to reconfirm her faith. “Let us go.”


	10. Epilogue

The women and their hybrid children were careful with their rations and sang hymns or told stories to calm their children as they journeyed through space. Despite her outward appearance of confidence and authority, Izo felt half dead inside. She missed Lucius terribly. He always seemed so strong and the source of hers. The Prophets had blessed her with visions and she hadn’t lied when she informed the others they had become crystal clear. That didn’t mean she wasn’t secretly riddled with doubt. What if she was leading them all to a slow lonely death in space? She rocked Rachat to sleep but she was also rocking herself trying not to go mad.  


She never truly wanted to be a leader but men and women rarely do. She wondered what was happening on Bajor the day after they left. Anything was possible. The castes might have started to turn on each other more clearly than they already had. She was certain the next crop would fail and would fail every coming year. Maybe the Cardassians had dropped all pretenses of peace and they were marching through the streets with weapons upholstered. Maybe they were rounding up men and women to execute. She wouldn’t have contact with anyone for at least a year and that was only if their beloved men escaped. Once war was declared she doubted they could possibly get away.

When they arrived at the coordinates, the infant community cheered at the sight of a planet growing larger in the viewing windows of the craft. More ships were trailing with them. There were thousands of them that left on different days from different locations of the planet so their exodus was less noticeable. Izo began a chant to graciously thank the Prophets. As long as there was something to land upon, surely they would survive!

They landed where the probe had landed and were relieved that the reading had not been false. There was water, breathable air, and a fairly temperate climate. There was lush vegetation, not too much radiation, and their equipment gave them a fair chance at building something resembling civilization. They had a variety of castes represented on their ship. Such a thing no longer mattered.

The children wanted to run and explore so several women were designated to simply wrangle the children as Izo assigned others the task of building shelter. She sent scouts with their best weapons to search out for sources of water and to bring back samples of vegetation to classify and test for toxicity. She helped herself to dig ditches and a primitive but effective fence to keep out predators.

Within the first few minutes of landing upon Had’lenga, she became far too busy to doubt herself or dwell too much upon thoughts of home or even her husband. Every hour was an intense ordeal. Every plant and animal was either a threat or a source of survival. The children needed extra supervision and the women needed constant comforting. Not everyone could adapt easily to the life of a colonist and they couldn’t possibly send out distress signals. Their colony required anonymity if they wanted their children to survive. The wildlife would harm them only because they were animals defending their home or seeking food and not people with prejudices.

It turned out there were predators they needed to fear. There were lizard lions in the waters. There were herds of large herbivores that could stampede if startled. There were venomous critters, spiny fish, large flying creatures that could carry off a small child. There were weeds that could cause misery, a tree that had sticky sap that enflamed the skin and gave off noxious fumes if burned. The women were forced to learn about some of these things the hard way. There was more than one death in that first year that Izo couldn’t have possibly predicted or prevented.

But they survived and began to thrive, after a fashion. They began to learn from their environment and every member contributed in some small way. They had rations as backup but enough wild game was available and the Mi’tino women were able to cultivate familiar plants from home. They covered everything with insect nets and had a stock of medicine and healers. Some women were pregnant on the voyage and gave birth, replacing those that were lost, including the first female hybrid on Had’lenga.

After six months and the community began to adapt, Zerena asked if they should build a shrine. They had already built the necessities. Wasn’t it time for them to build other things of cultural and spiritual importance? Did the Prophets not deserve a shrine? Was their new home really a home without such a thing? Izo agreed and everyone, including the children, had a hand in participating.

Luckily someone kept track of the days. Izo was far too busy to keep records. Someone was asking for her to do something every day. A year passed but she would have never known whether it had been a year or a decade. The first few ships arrived and their men began to trickle their way home.

“Izo!” Zerena shook her awake during the twilight hours of Had’lenga. 

“Prophets!” she groaned. “I just finally got to sleep? What is it now? Was there another birth? Did a child wander too close to the river and get snatched by a lizard lion? Did someone forget to properly put out a fire and light their shelter on fire? Was there a breach in our fence and some new species is running rampant in our food stores?”

“No! Just come!”

“No need for my wife to get out of bed!” Izo heard a voice and thought she was dreaming. “She looks like she needs rest more than I do!”

“Lucius?” she burst into tears.

He ripped the covers from her and embraced her. Zerena smiled and left them alone so she could wake the next lucky family.

“What has happened?” they both asked each other at the same time.

“Goodness, you first!” he said.

“I can’t think straight right now!” she sighed. “Tell me what my planet is going through!”

His happy expression vanished, “Things are getting worse. They are getting far, far worse. You would be better off not hearing it.”

“Lucius!”

“The planet is completely occupied by my people, Izo. The temples are being razed. Nearly every aspect of daily life is controlled through Central Command now. Entire populations are being deported to other parts of Bajor and villages bulldozed to make way for industrialized farming and deforestation, mining and hunting. Anyone that resists are conscripted for forced labor. It’s a nightmare we barely escaped from in time.”

“How did you escape?”

“Like a thief in the night. I had to steal a Bajoran ship and I feel terrible for that. The Bajoran would have never been allowed to use it but he could have sold it for scrap.”

“Not every man will be able to make it here, will they?”

“I don’t know. I tried to send the message to as many of my men as they could they shouldn’t wait a day longer. Any soldier that abandons their post or even appears to be sympathetic is being carefully watched now. I want to see our sons.”

“They are sleeping. Please don’t wake them. I want to hear more and I missed you! It’s been over a year!”

“It has.”

He slipped the covers over them and began to kiss her.

“Lucius…”

“No more. We are home in Had’lenga. Our children are safe and we can finally be free of both castes and ranks like you said. Right?”

“Right,” she grinned. 

“We’ll lead this community like a true democracy. No Central Command and no Kai.”

“Just fellowship and love.”

“A utopia.”

“Yes, a utopia hidden away except to others like us.”

“So be it.”

“So be it.”

**Author's Note:**

> "What About Us?" by Pink
> 
> We are searchlights, we can see in the dark  
> We are rockets, pointed up at the stars  
> We are billions of beautiful hearts  
> And you sold us down the river too far
> 
> What about us?  
> What about all the times you said you had the answers?  
> What about us?  
> What about all the broken happy ever afters?  
> What about us?  
> What about all the plans that ended in disaster?  
> What about love? What about trust?  
> What about us?
> 
> We are problems that want to be solved  
> We are children that need to be loved  
> We were willin', we came when you called  
> But, man, you fooled us, enough is enough, oh
> 
> What about us?  
> What about all the times you said you had the answers?  
> What about us?  
> What about all the broken happy ever afters?  
> Oh, what about us?  
> What about all the plans that ended in disaster?  
> Oh, what about love? What about trust?  
> What about us?  
> Oh, what about us?  
> What about all the plans that ended in disaster?  
> What about love? What about trust?  
> What about us?
> 
> Sticks and stones, they may break these bones  
> But then I'll be ready, are you ready?  
> It's the start of us, waking up, come on  
> Are you ready? I'll be ready  
> I don't want control, I want to let go  
> Are you ready? I'll be ready  
> 'Cause now it's time to let them know  
> We are ready, what about us?
> 
> What about us?  
> What about all the times you said you had the answers?  
> So what about us?  
> What about all the broken happy ever afters?  
> Oh, what about us?  
> What about all the plans that ended in disaster?  
> Oh, what about love? What about trust?  
> What about us?


End file.
